Green groups say Romania failing to stop illegal logging

Environmental groups say Romania has failed to tackle illegal logging and nature destruction in areas protected by European Union law, two years after Brussels warned the country to put an end to illicit deforestation

BUCHAREST, Romania -- Environmental groups say Romania has failed to tackle illegal logging and nature destruction in areas protected by European Union law, two years after Brussels warned the country to put an end to illicit deforestation.

A new report authored by nongovernmental groups Agent Green, EuroNatur, and ClientEarth, obtained by The Associated Press before its official release, alleges that widespread destruction in Natura 2000 sites — areas of special value that are meant to be protected by EU law — has in some areas intensified since the EU Commission issued warnings in February 2020.

The Commission said at the time that Romanian authorities managed forests and authorized logging “without evaluating beforehand the impacts on protected habitats as required” under the bloc's directives. It gave Romania a month to take measures to “address the shortcomings” and issued final warnings in July 2020.

Gabriel Paun, president of Agent Green, told the AP that instead of curbing illegal logging in the protected natural areas, Brussels' infringement procedures triggered what he called “panic logging.”